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High Country News

High Country News

A nonprofit independent magazine of unblinking journalism that shines a light on all of the complexities of the West.

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Archaeology

Sonya Schaller, a supporter from Omak, Washington, holds a sign during a gathering on Badger Mountain in East Wenatchee, Washington.
Posted inArticles

Wenatchi-P’squosa people demonstrate against proposed solar project 

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster April 5, 2024August 8, 2024

The Badger Mountain development in eastern Washington threatens heritage foodways on sacred lands.

SOURCES: USGS; Library of Congress; Flickr Creative Commons; Oregon Department of Transportation; Washington Department of Natural Resources via a public records request.
Posted inJanuary 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst

Washington’s solar permitting leaves tribal resources vulnerable to corporations

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster January 19, 2024February 5, 2024

Tribal officials say the process threatens cultural resources and what remains of healthy Indigenous foodways.

A view of the expansive Labyrinth Rims and Gemini Bridges area, which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management for a variety of uses.
Posted inArticles

Public-land recreation management near Moab gets an overhaul

by Brooke Larsen September 29, 2023January 24, 2024

BLM releases new high-profile travel plan for Labyrinth Canyon area.

Posted inArticles

Revising the colonial history of the horse in the West

by William Taylor and Yvette Running Horse Collin April 3, 2023January 24, 2024

A new study uses archaeological science and Indigenous knowledge to show how the species arrived in the Americas earlier than previously thought.

Posted inApril 1, 2022: The Archives Issue

What’s wrong with the Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum and Preserve?

by Miles W. Griffis April 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Archival documents reveal the true origins of a popular Colorado tourist attraction.

Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door

The nation’s last uranium mill plans to import Estonia’s radioactive waste

by Jessica Douglas November 1, 2021January 24, 2024

Utah says the White Mesa Mill isn’t contaminating groundwater, but its neighbor, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, disagrees.

Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door

The White Sands discovery only confirms what Indigenous people have said all along

by Nick Martin September 24, 2021January 24, 2024

Once again, the media has excluded Indigenous peoples from our own story.

Posted inArticles

The fight over a 5,000-year-old burial site in California

by Jessica Kutz July 23, 2021January 24, 2024

How a state law to expedite affordable housing erased a tribe’s right to consultation.

Posted inArticles

Petroglyph vandalism is not a victimless crime

by Jessica Douglas May 24, 2021January 24, 2024

Indigenous archaeologists say more protective measures and education are needed to prevent future vandalism.

Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line

Bears Ears is just the beginning

by Jessica Douglas and Graham Lee Brewer January 22, 2021January 24, 2024

As the Biden administration begins, tribal nations with ties to Utah assert their relationships to the land.

Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided

A whistleblower speaks out over excavation of Native sites

by Tay Wiles November 12, 2020January 24, 2024

In California, archaeologists unearthed Indigenous burials 11 years ago, but the remains have yet to be repatriated.

Posted inArticles

Trump’s monumental hypocrisy

by Chris D’Angelo June 29, 2020January 24, 2024

Despite decrying destruction of Confederate monuments, the president has dismantled millions of acres of national monuments.

Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties

One man’s mission to save a historic ship built a digital community

by Amelia Urry September 25, 2019January 24, 2024

If you (re)build it, they will come.

Posted inSeptember 2, 2019: In Bad Faith

The desert gets a biocrust skin graft

by Krista Langlois August 9, 2019January 24, 2024

Without its cover of living microorganisms, the desert is eroding.

Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return

Staffers allege misconduct at BLM’s busiest oil and gas office

by Tay Wiles July 11, 2019January 24, 2024

Complaints to Interior’s Office of Inspector General reveal concerns that the Carlsbad Field Office broke laws to favor industry.

Posted inArticles

What is lost when cultural sites are bulldozed?

by Elena Saavedra Buckley November 20, 2018January 24, 2024

Southwestern tribes learn of possible heritage destruction at the hands of Arizona State Parks and Trails.

Posted inMarch 5, 2018: Drilling Chaco

The Air Force wants to expand into Nevada’s wild desert

by Tay Wiles February 14, 2018January 24, 2024

A 300,000-acre base expansion would push into intact bighorn sheep habitat.

Posted inArticles

Monument reductions threaten future dinosaur discoveries

by Tay Wiles January 30, 2018January 24, 2024

Digs are imperiled by Trump’s move to slash protections for public land.

Posted inJanuary 22, 2018: A Separatist State of Mind

Lawsuits challenge Trump’s trim of Utah monuments

by Elizabeth Shogren December 19, 2017January 24, 2024

Reductions in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante exclude thousands of significant objects.

Posted inNovember 13, 2017: Solace and Perspective

A man and his house of relics, in search of a self

by Thomas Mira y Lopez November 13, 2017January 24, 2024

What is the right way to treat artifacts that do not belong to you?

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